Author: John Scalzo

John Scalzo is Warp Zoned's Editor-In-Chief and resident retro gaming expert. You can email him at john AT warpzoned DOT com.

Cole McGrath and Jak join PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale

Posted on July 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

As promised, Sony has revealed two more fighters for PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale at Comic-Con this weekend. Say hello to Cole McGrath from the InFamous series and Jak from the Jak & Daxter series.

Daniel Maniago, the Community Manager from developer SuperBot Entertainment had plenty to say about the new additions to the roster:

Players familiar with Jak and Daxter’s arsenal will immediately recognize some of the weaponry utilized in PlayStation All-Stars including the Blaster, Needle Lazer, Gyro Burster, and Mass Inverter. When the going gets tough, Jak has the ability to unleash the powers of both Dark and Light Jak to even the playing field, as seen in Jak II and Jak 3 respectively. Daxter even lends a hand in Jak’s melee attacks.

Cole takes advantage of a wide array of abilities in InFamous, an experience we hoped to emulate when incorporating him into the game. He is a well-rounded fighter who is effective at both close and long range combat, and is highly mobile as well. Players can command both his electrokinesis and cryokinesis, using these powers to assault opponents from a safe distance or propel himself towards the action. With these abilities, Cole proves to be a formidable adversary for the rest of the PlayStation All-Stars cast!

Check out Jak and Cole in action in two new PlayStation All-Stars trailers after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged ,

Weekly Warp-Up: Comic-Con Craziness

Posted on July 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

Who says game publishers can’t surprise you anymore? Activision, Marvel, and developer High Moon Studios took to the stage at this year’s Comic-Con to unveil a new game: Deadpool! In a world of intentional leaks and resumes that tell too much, it is nice to be surprised sometimes. We’ll have more from the San Diego-based show throughout the day.

In another surprising bit of news, our own Andrew Rainnie is actually happy with Mass Effect 3‘s “Extended Cut.” He’s so happy that he actually wrote A Thank You Letter to BioWare.

Do you want more surprises, including a release date for Gears of War: Judgment that is positively shocking? Then I would advise you to read the rest of this week’s Weekly Warp-Up after the break. (more…)

Posted in News |

Marvel and Activision team up for Deadpool game

Posted on July 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

So what happened to Hit-Monkey?

Activision and High Moon Studios just debuted their Marvel Comics-inspired game at Comic-Con and it doesn’t have anything to do with a simian assassin. Instead, it stars the Merc With a Mouth, Deadpool! Suck it Internets, Warp Zoned’s Andrew Rainnie totally called it.

The Deadpool game is currently scheduled for a 2013 release and, if the trailer above is any indication, it’ll be totally awesome. A bit more information and images of Deadpool kicking ass and enjoying chimichangas can be found at the game’s official website.

So now the question is, how does Hit-Monkey fit into all this? Is a separate Hit-Monkey game still in development? Or maybe he’ll appear in the Deadpool game as a boss/playable character? Or was it just a practical joke?

The world may never know.

Posted in News | Tagged ,

Battlefield 4 beta access included with Medal of Honor: Warfighter pre-order

Posted on July 14, 2012 by John Scalzo

I know what you’re thinking… “EA hasn’t even announced Battlefield 4 yet, how can they be talking about a beta?” And it’s true, the game hasn’t been officially announced. But yet, the advertisement shown above appeared on their Origin download service late last night before disappearing earlier this morning.

While the publisher still plans to support Battlefield 3 with additional DLC packs throughout the rest of 2012 and into 2013, the idea of a sequel isn’t that far-fetched. Battlefield 3 sold tremendously well after it’s release last Fall and was still present in the NPD’s top ten for June 2012. EA and developer DICE would be crazy not to make a sequel.

While no other details about Battlefield 4 were leaked (including the important detail of when a beta would place and for what platforms other than the PC), we know that DICE is hard at work on a next-gen game. Could it be Battlefield 4? Maybe.

[Source: IGN]

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

New Releases: Heroes of Ruin

Posted on July 14, 2012 by John Scalzo

I’ll understand if you want to skip this week’s new release report, especially since only a single new game will make it’s way into stores on Tuesday.

That game is Heroes of Ruin, a dungeon crawling RPG from Square Enix for the 3DS. A demo has been available on the 3DS eShop for a few weeks now, so if it sounds like something you might be interested in, be sure to give the demo a look this weekend.

And It’s not a new game, but a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection (PC) will be released this week as well.

A few new downloadable games are also scheduleded for release this week including Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD on the Xbox Live Arcade, the continuation of Nintendo’s 8-Bit Summer, and whatever Sony has planned for the PlayStation Store.

Posted in 3DS, News, PC | Tagged

Earth Defense Force 4 teaser site opens

Posted on July 13, 2012 by John Scalzo

It looks like the Earth is set to be invaded again as D3 Publisher has opened a Japanese teaser site for Earth Defense Force 4. No additional details, such as a release date or which platforms it’ll be available on, were revealed by the site.

Developer Sandlot handled the first three numbered games in the series (of which, only the third was released in the US) before allowing Vicious Cycle to create last year’s spinoff title Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, so it’s likely they’re developing Earth Defense Force 4 as well.

[Source: Andriasang]

Posted in News | Tagged

Gears of War: Judgment will be released on March 19, 2013

Posted on July 13, 2012 by John Scalzo

Rod Fergusson, Director of Production at Epic Games, had a chat with G4TV’s X-Play yesterday at Comic-Con. During their talk, the cable news show learned that Gears of War: Judgment will be available in stores in March 2013, breaking with the franchise’s traditional Fall release window.

As you can see, that’s the only Gears of War: Judgment information that Epic and People Can Fly were interested in announcing.

UPDATE: Epic Games has just announced that Gears of War: Judgment will be released on March 19, 2013 during their Comic-Con panel.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

CoD Elite content for July detailed: three Multiplayer maps, one Spec Ops mission

Posted on July 13, 2012 by John Scalzo

Activision has unveiled the four new maps that Call of Duty Elite subscribers will be able to download next week. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 players will be treated to two Multiplayer maps and a Spec Ops mission as the standard “Elite Drops,” along with a special bonus Multiplayer map that’ll make longtime fans of the series happy.

All of the maps will be available to download for Xbox 360 subscribers on Tuesday, July 17. Elite subscribers will also be able to download “Terminal,” the Russian airport map that was a favorite of Modern Warfare 2 players. “Terminal” will stay exclusive to CoD Elite for only one day as all Xbox 360 players will be able to download it on July 18.

The other three maps (which will be available for PC and PS3 players “soon”) include…

Decommission (Multiplayer): A graveyard of rotting [or add decommissioned here] ocean liners has not only given birth to a shantytown of locals, but a mid-sized Multiplayer Map populated in chokepoints; providing the perfect setting for shoreline-based combat.

Offshore (Multiplayer): Trapped on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean, you have nowhere to go but directly at your enemies in this new Multiplayer map boasting helipads, cranes, and countless perches for snipers eager to pick off the competition. Did we mention to look down or else you may fall off?

Vertigo (Spec Ops): The luxurious “Oasis” hotel in Dubai hosts the latest Special Ops mission, in which players must use laser-guided RPG’s to dispatch waves of helicopters. Utilize rooftop advantage to defend from waves of enemies, before parachuting to a ground-level exfil point.

PS3 Elite subscribers will gain access to last month’s content on Thursday, July 19. So if you’re a PS3 player, get ready to tackle the Multiplayer maps “Vortex,” “U-Turn,” and “Intersection” as well as the Spec Ops mission “Arctic Recon.”

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged